Rekindling the Past
by EmpathNaga
Summary: Joey Wheeler wakes up from a coma unable to remember the past two years of his life, falling in love, or his engagement to a certain blue-eyed CEO. How will Seto win the heart of his puppy...again? SetoxJoey, Puppyshipping, Shounen-Ai.
1. Chapter 1

**Oh my...how long has it been? It's been over a decade since I've posted any fanfics. Honestly, I deleted almost all of my old stories because I don't even recognize any of them or the writing in them. But I've had ideas off and on for years. I've decided to post the first chapter to this story and see what kind of response it generates.**

 **Usual disclaimers apply. I don't have any ownership of the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise, nor any other brands that might pop up in this story.**

 **Let's get to it, then!**

* * *

Yugi was helping out in the Kame Game Shop when he got the call. As much as he and all of his friends wanted to spend all of their time at the hospital, they couldn't put a halt on their lives while they waited. The shop still had customers and business that needed tending to, and Solomon wasn't getting any younger, despite the fact that he seemed to have more energy than the group combined some days.

After helping a young boy pick out a series of booster packs to buy, he picked up the ringing phone of the shop. "Hello, Kame Game Shop." He said in his best business voice.

" _YUGI!"_ The voice of Mokuba Kaiba exclaimed on the other end. _"HE'S AWAKE!"_

For just a moment, Yugi felt his breath stop. "He is…?! When?!"

" _Just now! I'm calling everyone else! Get down here now!"_ Mokuba exclaimed before hanging up.

Yugi started rushing around the store when Solomon walked into the room. "Goodness, Yugi, what's all of the comotion…?"

Yugi didn't stop moving as he rushed around the room. "He's awake, Grandpa, and I gotta get down to the hospital, YAMI GET DOWNSTAIRS! WE NEED TO GET TO THE HOSPITAL! I already called a taxi, where's my wallet?!" he fired off each statement before he flicked the sign on the door to 'CLOSED' and rushed out the door.

Solomon stood in the wake of the boy's rush, a very relieved and tired smile on his face. They'd waited so long…

IIIIIIIIII

Yugi, Yami, Serenity, Tea, Tristan, Duke, Mokuba, and Ryo had all dropped everything immediately to rush to their friend's side, sitting in the visiting room, waiting for clearance from the nurses. Bakura didn't have anything better to do, and came at Ryo's insistence. "Might as well. Going to a coma ward; I can't think of a better way to pep up a slow day." he'd said.

"For god's sake, why is it taking so long?!" Tristan exclaimed, his knee nervously bouncing in his seat.

"The nurses have to take him off the medicine they used to make sure he didn't freak out when they realized he was waking up." Mokuba explained. "How'd you like to wake up with a catheter and half a dozen monitors hooked up to you?"

"Besides," Ryo said with a very light chuckle. "It's been three months, I think we can wait a few more minutes."

Before anyone could say anything more, a woman in a floral set of nurse's scrubs came into the room. "Who here is the party for Joseph Wheeler?" She asked, looking at her clipboard.

The entire group stood up.

"Oh my." She silently counted the group. "I'm afraid I can only take three people back at a time. There's only so much space in the room." She explained.

"Yugi, Serenity, Mokuba, you should all go." Yami said.

"What? Yami, I want you to be there when we see him too!" Yugi exclaimed, his large purple eyes looking saddened.

Yami just smiled gently. "I'll be in right after you. Go already."

Yugi quietly huffed, but he nodded. "Alright. Let's go."

The three of them walked down the hall quickly, trying their best not to break out into a run and all came into the room they all knew very well.

Joey Wheeler was laid back in a hospital bed, dozens of "Get Well" cards in the room, and Red Eyes merchandise for when he woke up. He seemed so much thinner and less healthy, but then that's what sitting in a bed for three months will do to a person. He looked up at the door and his expression broke into a wide grin.

"Hey, Yug! For a sec I was thinkin you were another nurse come to stick somethin in me!" He joked.

Serenity and Yugi both had tears in their eyes and immediately hugged their friend. "JOEY!" they exclaimed together.

Mokuba hurried around to the other side of the bed and clung to the boy's other side.

"ACK!" Joey coughed. "Alright! Alright! I'm happy to see you guys too!" He said with a laugh.

"God, Joey, you have no idea," Serenity had to stifle a sob, "No idea how happy we are! What did the nurses tell you?"

Once his friends let him move again, Joey scratched his head. "Well, I've been in a coma for three months and I was in an accident. Fuckin' sucks, but your big bro's a lot tougher than he looks!" He jabbed a thumb at himself and grinned crookedly at Serenity. It just made her cry and hug her brother again.

"We've been visiting you in shifts." Yugi explained. "We never really knew if you could hear us, but we always hoped."

Joey shrugged. "I don't remember much of anything now. I don't even remember the accident." He said casually. "And who is this guy right here?!" He exclaimed happily, looking at Mokuba. "You got so much bigger than I remember!"

The young teen blushed and scratched his head, embarrassed. "Sorry that my brother couldn't be here, Joey, but he happened to be in the middle of a merger meeting, so his phone was silenced. I'm positive as soon as he can he'll come bursting through the door to see you!"

Joey scoffed a bit. "Wow, even ol' Moneybags came to see me? Shit, I must've been in even worse shape than I thought if he's come down from his glorious ivory tower to see a mere mortal like me." He laughed, but then he realized that nobody else was laughing.

Serenity had stiffened and looked up at her brother. Yugi stared at him like he'd grown a second head and Mokuba slowly covered his mouth like he'd realized something horrible.

"What?" Joey asked them all, looking very confused. "Why the hell are you guys looking at me like I'm dying again?"

"Joey," Yugi asked carefully, "What year is it?"

Joey blinked, not seeming to understand the purpose of the question. "It's 2003, duh. Though if I've been out of it for three months, I guess that means it's May by now?"

All tree of his friends looked at each other silently.

"For God's sake, will someone please tell me what is going on?!" Joey asked desperately.

Mokuba didn't answer and immediately left the room.

"Joey, it's January of 2005." Serenity answered.

Joey's eyes just about fell out of his head. "WHAT?!" he exclaimed. "You said I was just out for three months!"

Yugi put a hand on his chin thoughtfully. "I guess when you were in the accident, you must have lost some of your memories. What's the last major event you remember happening, Joey?" the smaller teen asked urgently.

Joey scratched his head "Battle City just ended. You trounced that stuck-up asshole, Kaiba, and got all three of the God Cards!"

"Well, yeah, that happened, but…" Yugi trailed off.

"It was two years ago." Joey said. "Wow." He sat back in his bed and looked completely stunned.

"There's...there's a LOT that we need to get you up to date with, big bro." Serenity said. "But...right now, let's just enjoy the fact that you aren't in a coma anymore! Can you move around? The doctor said you might have some brain damage after being in a coma for so long."

Joey wiggled his legs around. "Yeah, I can feel my legs and my arms, but they kinda don't wanna move." He laughed. "Guess they got used to being on vacation."

He made his sister and best friend laugh, but underneath it all, there was a growing sense of dread regarding Joey and his lost memories.

IIIIIIIIII

Just as Mokuba had predicted, Seto had stormed out of the office the second he received word that Joey was awake, threatening to fire every single employee that knew before him and didn't stop the meeting immediately. He ordered his driver to get to the hospital, even if he had to break every law of the road to get there.

He practically clawed through the doors of the building as if he owned the place, wearing a black trench coat with a deep red high-collared shirt underneath and his black slacks. Mokuba met him at the elevator. "Big Bro!" He exclaimed, hugging him.

"Is it true, Mokuba?" Seto said in a quiet voice. "Is he awake?"

"Seto, you can't go in there right now!" Mokuba exclaimed.

"Like hell I can't!" He exclaimed, grabbing Mokuba's shoulder and trying to urge him to move, but the younger teen stood fast.

"Listen, Seto, Joey's memory isn't all there right now." He tried to say.

" _I don't care."_ Seto growled, walking past him. "I've waited too long; I need to see him!"

"He called you 'Moneybags!'" Mokuba exclaimed.

Seto stopped in his tracks. "What…?" He hadn't heard that nickname in a very, very long time.

Mokuba shook his head like he didn't believe it himself. "He called you 'Moneybags,' and then said something about you coming down from your ivory tower to see him, a mere mortal."

Seto's right hand reflexively went to his left and fiddled with one of the rings he was wearing. "He hasn't said something like that about me since…" he trailed off.

Mokuba nodded. "Since Battle City. When you two acted like you hated each other." He let out a heavy sigh.

Seto felt faint. He stumbled over to one of the chairs in the hall by the elevators, ignoring the concerned glances of other people coming and going.

His hands were shaking and his eyes were stinging like he might cry at any moment. He looked at his left hand. More specifically, the ring on his ring finger. It was black metal, polished so perfectly he could see his reflection in it. A diamond sat in the center, with two beautiful rubies on either side of it. He'd had it custom made 3 months ago, before the accident.

"So what you're saying is," Seto said in a dead voice, "That my fiance hates me."

Mokuba came up and hugged his brother. "Seto, I am so so sorry. I don't know what in the world I can do to make any of this better."

Seto gently brought his arms up to hug his brother and let out a shaky sigh, closing his eyes. Despite the CEO's attempts to hide how distraught he was, his mouth pulled into a deep frown against his will and he felt a tear escape his eye. He inhaled again and let out a shuddering breath. It felt like the world was starting to collapse all around him. He hadn't felt this way since the day of the accident when he saw Joey in the ICU for the first time on a respirator.

Mokuba sat down next to him, studying his expression. Seto slowly tented his fingers over his mouth and stared intensely at nothing in particular, like he was thinking very very hard about a unique problem he'd never encountered before. "What are we gonna do?" Mokuba couldn't help but wonder.

Seto didn't say anything for a while before he let out a huff through his nose.

"It will be fine." He said, though the way he said it, it seemed like he was trying to convince himself more than say it to Mokuba. "He's still my fiance, even if he doesn't remember. I remember everything about these last two years." He looked at the ring again. "I got my puppy to fall in love with me once." Seto very lightly smiled as he felt more tears coming on. "I just have to do it again." He had a very determined fire in his eye and nodded, standing up.

"Seto?" Mokuba looked up at his brother.

"I just need to act like I did two years ago, right?" Kaiba asked, adjusting his outfit. "Then let's go see that dumb mutt that got himself run over." He said it in the same icy tone he usually reserved for scolding his employees, but Mokuba saw him fiddling with his ring as he said it.

This was going to be a long uphill battle, but everyone hoped that it would all be worth it.

* * *

 **Author's Notes: I have no idea when the timeline of the second series is supposed to take place, but the Battle City arc ended in February of 2003 in Japan's airing, so I made that the final period Joey could remember for this story.**

 **Also, yes, I shall be using the Dub names. The reason is, I grew up with the dub. It might have its problems, but I can never think of the characters names as their Japanese names because of that. I didn't start watching the subbed anime until 5D's.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Well, I got a surprising amount of people asking for a second chapter. And by 'a surprising amount,' I mean 'more than 0.' So, by demand, popular or otherwise, I've (finally) written out the second chapter to Rekindling the Past.**

IIIII

After Yugi and Serenity got back to the waiting area, everyone saw the stricken looks on their faces and started throwing out questions.

"Well, how is he?" Tea asked.

"Did he remember you, Yugi?" Tristan asked.

"Where'd Mokuba go?" Duke asked.

Yugi held up his hands. "Joey's fine, but...he can't remember the past two years."

"WHAT?!" everyone exclaimed at once, except for Bakura who only looked mildly surprised.

Serenity sat in a chair. "We asked him what the date was and he said May of 2003. The last thing he remembers is Battle City."

Yami put an arm around his smaller partner's shoulders to comfort him. "How much did you tell him?"

Yugi shook his head. "Nothing." he sighed. "We were just so overwhelmed that we couldn't bare to bring up anything that happened in the last two years."

Tea exhaled sharply. "How are we going to tell him he's engaged to Seto Kaiba?"

Tristan slapped the arm of his chair. "How are we going to tell him about his dad?!" he exclaimed.

Bakura's eyes lit up. "Can I be the one to tell him about his dear ol' daddy?"

"NO!" the entire room exclaimed at once, causing Bakura to cross his arms and avert his eyes in a broody expression that was definitely not a pout, no not at all.

"I'd prefer if you don't tell Wheeler anything about our relationship."

Everyone looked up at the newest addition to the room: Seto Kaiba. Ever since Joey had been in his coma, Kaiba had begun switching out his typical white or blue coats for red and black. He was looking down at the ring on his left ring finger and fiddling with it again.

"Why don't you want to tell Joey, Kaiba?" Yami asked.

"Use your brain." Kaiba said as he slowly loosened the ring. "Two years ago if you had told any one of us that myself and Joey Wheeler would be engaged," he finally took the ring off, looking like it caused him pain to do it. "Then we'd think you were completely insane. It would do more harm than good."

"Well how are we supposed to explain that he's living with you, then!?" Tristan exclaimed.

Mokuba walked into the room. "Already on it." He said. "We just explained to the staff that we need to move everything of his into his old room ASAP."

Seto eyed the rest of the group, "And once someone explains his father's predicament to him," an unspoken 'because I'm not going to do it,' hung in the air, "it should be easier to tell him that he's staying with us. Do any of _you_ have enough space for him?" he asked with a pointedly raised eyebrow.

Everyone already knew the answer. The only person who could afford to have the extra space for Joey was Duke, and he lived in a one-bedroom apartment that was walking distance from Black Crown Games by himself.

Seto placed the ring he was wearing on the inside pocket of his jacket, and began looking for something else in the other pockets. "I also suspect that Wheeler will probably need medical attention and care after having been comatose for so long, and probably some form of rehabilitation. I can afford to give him whatever amenities he'll need."

"You keep calling him 'Wheeler,' Seto." Yugi pointed out.

Kaiba's jaw clenched and he finally found what he was looking for: a white gold ring with two sapphires on either side of a brilliant diamond, identical in shape to the ring he'd just taken off. "If I'm to pretend the last two years didn't happen, then I have to act like I did years ago to the mutt, don't I?"

Yugi let out a tired sigh, thinking that was probably the case. "Don't go too hard on him. And if it gets to be too hard for you, Seto…" he let the sentence taper off.

Kaiba slipped the white and blue ring on. "It's just as I said to Mokuba. He's still my fiance, even if he doesn't remember it. I just have to win him over again. I did it once, after all."

Bakura snorted. "Was that before or after he tried to beat the shit out of you for what you did to his dad?"

The room looked Bakura, shocked that he'd even bring that up. All except for Kaiba, who just smirked. "There was no 'try' about it. I still have a tiny scar from the surgery to fix the cheekbone he broke." As he said this, he buttoned up his coat to hide the red shirt underneath it.

"Okay!" Tea clapped her hands, standing up finally. "I wanna go see Joey. Tristan, Duke, you're up!"

"Shouldn't Kaiba go before me?" Duke asked. "I mean, he should see his fiance."

"My fiance doesn't remember that he's my fiance, Devlin. Try to keep your mind on something other than dice and Joey - - _Wheeler's_ younger sister for once." Kaiba snarled. Nobody took it personally. This is about how they all thought he'd react to this kind of news. "I'd prefer to go last. I need time to mentally prepare what I'm going to say and how I should act."

"I just thought of something!" Ryou pointed at Yami and Yugi. "He doesn't know anything about the separation of the Yamis and Hikaris!"

Tristan looked at Yami and Yugi "Should we prepare him for it or do we not spoil the surprise?" he asked with a certain cheshire-like grin.

Yami himself smirked. "I think a bit of surprise might be good for our friend."

IIIII

Tea and Tristan immediately hugged their friend as soon as they saw his open eyes. "JOEY!" the two yelled at once.

"GAH!" Joey exclaimed in surprise as he was glomped. "C'mon, not you guys too!" he said with a laugh.

Duke was standing behind the two with a very content grin on his face. "Can't blame them. You don't know what it was like seeing you in that bed every day, Joey."

"Well I'm awake now!" Joey said, patting his friends backs. "But I'm being smothered by two heavy bodies!"

The two immediately retracted. "Sorry!" Tea said.

"But man, we were starting to think you weren't gonna wake up!" Tristan said with a beaming smile. "You didn't need the machine to breathe for you after a week and a half, but they had to put a tube in your stomach to feed ya."

Duke chuckled. "Tristan here asked if they could funnel hotdogs through it for ya."

"Damn, when I get home I'm not gonna know how to take care of myself or my old man." Joey said. "I've had machines doing it for so long."

Tea and Tristan winced. Duke's expression hardened.

Joey noticed. "Guys, seriously, what's the deal with everyone acting like everything I say is some kinda taboo? I gotta go home at some point!"

"There's just," Tea began carefully, "A lot that we gotta catch you up to speed on."

"Two years worth of stuff apparently." Joey said, looking at his friends. "Has it really been that long since Battle City?"

"Oh yeah." Tristan said, eyes widening for emphasis. "A lot happened. A buncha freaks started kidnapping people and sealing them in cards, then this pink-haired guy tried to hack Kaiba Corp," he shrugged. "It was a whole big long mess."

"You got a cool dragon that turned your monsters into weapons." Duke pointed out. "I wasn't there for the trip to America, but you told me enough about it later."

"My cards!" Joey started to sit up but his body rebelled against the idea and he fell back into the bed as lack of strength in his lower back and legs kept him from sitting up correctly. "Fuck it...gonna have to get better at that." he muttered.

"Something wrong, Joey?" Tea asked.

"I guess my body's just still used to laying in one place. It's hard to move my weight around." Joey said. "But what I was gonna say was that if it's been two whole years, my deck is probably completely different now, isn't it?"

"Well," Duke started. "You certainly have more resources now." he said.

It was true - now that Joey was living with and dating Kaiba, his deck had been upgraded several times over while still remaining true to Joey's personality. Dating the developer of Duel Monsters' most state-of-the-art gameplay accessories had its perks.

"We'll bring it as soon as we can." Tea said. "I bet a duel will make you feel a hundred times better."

Joey nodded and laid back in the bed. "Sounds a lot better than sitting in this bed all day."

As good as his friends felt now, an underlying sense of dread was still in the pit of their stomachs. How were they going to reveal all that had happened in the last two years to their friend?


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm surprised there are so many people asking me to continue this story. Don't worry, I have no intention of letting it die. Just remember that I have a rather busy normal life as well. Hectic work schedules, y'know. But you aren't here to listen to that. Let's keep this tale going!**

-I-I-I-

Joey's next set of visitors were the only three left: Yami, Ryou, and Bakura. Bakura opted to stay outside of the room at first when Ryou asked so he could tell Joey about how all of the Yamis had separated.

"Hey, Yug'!" Joey smiled at his friend. "Oh. Wait, sorry. You're Yami, right?" he scratched the back of his head, "Geez, if it's been two years, is there anything you found out about your past?"

Yami had a warm smile on his face and Ryou looked ecstatic. "We did. But it's a very long story. I'll explain as much of the story as I can when you feel better, Joey."

"Even before the accident, the dumb blonde barely understood anything that was going on." Bakura said as he walked into the room.

"BAKURA!" Ryou exclaimed. "I told you to stay outside!"

Bakura shrugged. "I got bored."

Yami put a hand on his temple, already feeling a headache coming on.

Joey outright gawked at Bakura. "But - You're - He - WHAT!?" His eyes kept darting between Ryou and Bakura. "How are you two different people?"

"Not really sure." Bakura shrugged. "The pharaoh had his ceremonial duel, but then his little light started crying and confessed his love for him. Next thing anyone knows, they have their own bodies and so do I."

"What about Malik?" Joey asked. Battle City, and all of the torment he'd put them through, was still fresh in his mind.

Yami shook his head. "As far as we're aware, that psychopathic spirit that was possessing him is still banished."

Bakura grinned. "Doesn't mean it won't find a way back eventually, though."

Ryou shot Bakura the closest thing to a death glare that the much sweeter young man could muster. "Whatever you're thinking, stop thinking it."

Yami put a hand on Joey's arm to comfort his friend. "Don't worry - as long as they're separate, Bakura can't use his powers, and they can't join together again without each other's consent."

Ryou stood by the other side of the bed. "So how much did the others tell you so far?"

"Not much." Joey answered. "Tristan, Tea, and Duke mostly talked about cards that have come out and stuff that I added to my deck since Battle City. Bet I can even give you a run for your money now, Yami!"

Yami smiled. "You certainly have in the past."

"Never won, though." Bakura said with a smirk. Ryou groaned and his head fell forward.

"Nah, he's right. I'm gonna have to work extra-hard to get back into dueling order!" Joey said, lifting up his arm and trying to make a fist with his fingers, but they didn't want to do it. "Nngh…!" he stared at them for a little bit, grunting with effort.

"Joey." Yami's firm voice said. "Don't strain yourself until you go through physical therapy. You'll get there."

"Before long you'll be riding your motorcycle across the city again." Ryou said.

"Wait, motorcycle? I have a motorcycle now?!" Joey's face lit up.

Yami tilted his head. "Tristan didn't tell you? I would have thought that would be one of the first things he'd bring up."

Ryou nodded. "You saved up for a while and finally bought a motorcycle. I don't know the make or model - I'm just not knowledgeable about these things."

Bakura groaned. "Ugh. It's a 2004 Cobra. He wouldn't stop talking about it for a year after he got the bloody thing. Custom paint job, too. Acted like the thing was his baby."

Joey was making half-words with gasps in-between because he couldn't contain his excitement.

"Got wrecked pretty bad in the accident, too." Bakura added.

Ryou quickly added, "But it's fine now! Kai - -" he winced when Bakura glared at him from behind, yelling something at him through their link. He cleared his throat. " _I_ helped chip in, and so did everyone else, even Mokuba. We got it restored for when you woke up."

' _Not a bad save.'_ Bakura thought at Ryou. _'Thankfully he's too stupid and too excited to pick up on it.'_

"Man, now I really can't wait to get the hell out of this hospital! I got duels and a good-as-new motorcycle waitin' for me! Hell, I'm so excited I'd even duel _on_ the motorcycle!" Joey babbled for a bit like a kid talking about their favorite toy.

Bakura scoffed. "Playing a card game on a motorcycle. You really come up with the stupidest-sounding ideas."

"Can't be anymore dangerous than dueling with buzz-saws aimed at our legs." Yami interjected.

"Or that time you and Kaiba dueled on top of a skyscraper with a bomb attached to it." Joey brought up.

Ryou nodded. "Or when Marik possessed Joey and tied you both to an anchor."

"Any other attempts at our lives in the two years after Battle City I should know about?" Joey asked.

"More than I'd like to think of." Yami said with a tired-looking smile. "It's supposed to be a happy day celebrating your recovery, Joey. We can talk more about attempted homicides later."

"What kind of job do I have that landed me a motorcycle?" Joey suddenly asked. "Or did I just get that good at dueling?" he had that same crooked grin on his face.

Ryou looked at Bakura, who shrugged in a 'don't-ask-me' kinda way.

Yami quickly intervened. "You work as a quality assurance manager. Making games better."

Joey's eyes widened. "That's freakin awesome! Not just a tester, but like, the manager of a whole testing department? Sweet! Wait, will I still have the job after being comatose for so long? Where do I work?" He asked all in a hurry.

"Kaiba Corp." Bakura answered instantly.

"WHAT?!" Joey exclaimed, and Yami shook his head again, Ryou groaning to himself at his yami's behaviour. "You're saying that I gotta work for Seto Kaiba?! Ol' Moneybags?!"

Ryou tried to cheer him up, "Kaiba's been insistent that when you're better, you can come back to work."

"Oh sure!" Joey said, throwing up his arms and letting them land on the bed with a 'thud.' "Betcha he misses having the mongrel around to use as a whipping boy or something."

"If you're this upset about the job, you're really going to go ballistic when you hear about your dad." Bakura said.

" _BAKURA!"_ Both Yami and Ryou yelled at Bakura, who looked completely indifferent.

"Well, if you two aren't going to bring it up, I might as well." Bakura reasoned.

"What's wrong with my old man?" Joey asked seriously.

Nobody said anything. Ryou looked down, Yami looked away from Joey, and Bakura looked between the two as if to see if either of them were going to say anything.

" _Well?"_ Joey pressed. "What's wrong with my father? Is he...dead?!"

"No!" Yami exclaimed. "No, Joey, he's...he's very much alive."

"Then where is he? Why isn't he here?" Joey asked. "I mean, I get it if he's too drunk off his ass to get down here and see me, but I'd like to at least think you guys would let 'em know that the only son he lives with is still alive and kickin!"

"He's in prison." Bakura finally said.

"PRISON?!" Joey exclaimed. "Wha - - On what grounds?!"

"Do you want the list alphabetically or chronologically?" Bakura asked with a raised brow.

"Bakura, enough! Stop saying things just to hurt Joey on the day he wakes up!" Ryou pleaded.

"No, Ryou, I wanna hear this." Joey said adamantly. "Why is he in prison?"

"Well," Bakura started. "It started with tax evasion, then he didn't have any money for alcohol so he tried to rob a liquor store. Badly. The police learned about him abusing you for years and then assault and battery got added to the list."

Joey was becoming frantic "Well, we gotta think of a way to get him out! I can't just lay here and - -"

"Joey," Ryou interrupted in a quiet, but firm voice, "You were the one who testified against him."

Joey didn't say anything for a few moments and just looked at Ryou, then Yami, then out the window at nothing in particular. Not able to think of what to say to comfort him, Yami placed a hand on his shoulder. "We can tell you more details later, Joey, but right now, Seto needs to talk to you. He is your...boss, after all." he said, sounding like that last part took effort to say.

"Mm-hm." Joey said numbly.

"We might be able to get court transcripts. If they were ever made." Ryou suggested.

Bakura chuckled under his breath, _'I'm sure the Priest will be able to get records, recordings, anything at all for his darling dog.'_ He thought at Ryou, who just rolled his eyes, but nodded. Bakura did have a point; with one of the best legal teams in the country, Kaiba would have an easier time finding records of what happened in that courtroom.

"We'll talk to you again soon, Joey." Yami said as he squeezed his shoulder and started to walk out of the room.

On the way back, Seto was waiting for them in the hallway leading up to the waiting room. As he saw them approach, he asked, "Did you tell him about his father?"

"Bakura did." Ryou said with a glance at his yami, who just shrugged.

"I didn't bring up your part in the whole sodding mess." Bakura said, brushing past Seto. "I figured you'd want to do that personally." he said with fake kindness in his voice as he walked into the waiting area. Ryou looked apologetically at Seto, but didn't say anything more as he followed.

Yami walked up to the other man and said, "He's just been told his father is in prison and that he's part of the reason why. I know you feel like you have to act like you did two years ago, Kaiba, but at least try to be gentle with him."

Seto just snorted. "Don't insult me. I know how to talk to my puppy." He pushed off the wall and looked inside the waiting room. "Mokuba? It's our turn." he said before walking down the hallway to Joey's room, black coat billowing out behind him.


	4. Chapter 4

**So, before I publish anything I of course run it by my friends. This is an exchange we had over a chat.  
**

 **Me: So it's worth waiting nearly a month for the next chapter?  
**

 **Friend: FOOL! TIME IS A NEBULOUS CONCEPT TO AN ARTIST!**

 **Me: What about due dates and deadlines?**

 **Friend: POPPYCOCK!**

 **So there ya have it. Time is an illusion n' stuff. Anyways, on with the chapter!**

I-I-I-I-I

Being the only one left, Seto walked down the hallway to Joey's room. He had to restrain himself from bursting into the room to hug his fiance. Stopping just outside, he looked down at himself and made sure his red shirt was hidden and that he had the correct ring on. He could probably make up some story about an engagement or how he wore it to get hopeless women desperate for his money off of his back.

He felt a surge of adrenaline course down his arms as he turned the handle to the door and walked inside.

And there he was. The man Seto had, perhaps foolishly, fallen in love with. For the first time in months, his eyes were open, and he was sitting upright in his bed. He felt a heat in his eyes, but quickly blinked away any tears that tried to gather.

"And here I thought it was cats that had nine lives instead of dogs." Seto said to announce himself.

Joey looked at him, then rolled his eyes. "Oh, perfect. Mr. Moneybags himself finally comes to see the dog that got run over by a big bad car, huh? Look, if all you're gonna do is hurl insults at me, Kaiba, I've got more important things to worry about." He crossed his arms and almost pouted as he looked at the wall directly across his bed.

Seto just stared at Joey for a moment. The way he spoke, the way he held himself, even the words he used...it really was the same Joey Wheeler that he knew from two years ago after Battle City.

"Not a very polite way to address your employer, Wheeler." Seto said.

Joey groaned. "Ugh. Don't remind me. So now you gonna come and tell me that I'm fired or that I gotta do something horrible to make up for being in a coma? That just sounds like something you'd do."

"Actually - -"

"And don't expect me to come to work for a while; I can barely use my arms right, not to mention I haven't even tried getting out of bed yet. So yeah, not really gonna be too useful at testing your fancy toys unless you're makin something for handicapped people." Joey continued.

"Wheeler - - "

"God, I can't remember two whole fuckin' years of my life, my dad is in prison, and now here you are to probably give me some other shit to deal with - -"

" _Joseph Wheeler!"_ Seto exclaimed in a firm voice.

That finally shut the rambling man up. His head snapped to the side to look at Seto with his eyes wide.

Seto took a breath, and then looked back at Joey. "Now that you're awake, it's best that you know that your position is still open to you whenever you're capable of performing your duties again." Seto said in a firm, businessman voice.

"Wha - - really?" Joey asked.

Seto merely nodded. "You'll also be staying in our home after you're released." Seto didn't even realized that he'd automatically said 'our home,' referring to himself and Joey, of course.

Thankfully for him, Joey thought he'd meant Seto and Mokuba. "Okay, did you get a personality transplant or something in the two years I can't remember? You're acting way too generous."

Seto rolled his eyes, an irritated sneer on his lips. "You don't really have anywhere else to live at the moment. More importantly, you're going to require not only physical therapy and rehabilitation to train your body, but you'll also likely need the care of those qualified to look after people who have atrophied muscles and nerve damage, like you. None of your... _friends,"_ He said the word like it tasted bad, "can provide any of that for you."

"So, wait, I'm gonna have, like, nurses coming to take care of me in your mansion?" Joey asked.

"Neither Mokuba or myself are qualified to look after you. I likely won't have the time." Seto said. It wasn't a lie, but that wasn't the only reason he was relegating most of the work of caring for Joey to nurses. Seto was perfectly willing to help his fiance do anything he needed. However, keeping in mind his relationship with the mutt two years ago, he realized that if he were to assist Joey with everything he'd need, Joey would likely get suspicious and start to believe something was amiss.

"Damn. I'm gonna be living like a king." Joey said with a small smirk.

"It's all to facilitate your rehabilitation." Seto said. "I need you back at work."

Joey scoffed. "Cracking the whip and I'm not even a day into recovery, huh?"

"The imbeciles I keep having to put in your old position are lucky I haven't fired them. As much as it pains me to say," Seto said in a very hesitant voice, "there is something to be lost in not having you help oversee the quality assurance division."

Joey raised an eyebrow. "You're still being way too nice. What happened to the evil CEO that's done everything and more just to win a card game against my best friend?"

Seto looked away for a moment. "I thought that 'Owner of Kaiba Corporation Takes In Homeless Rescue Dog' might make a good story for the press. Or claiming it as a charitable deduction when tax season begins."

Joey smirked at Kaiba and, unable to flip him off, instead put his hand under his chin and flicked it quickly at him instead. "Fuck you, Moneybags." he said without any real malice behind it.

Seto didn't respond, and instead continued with what he needed to say. "All of your things have been moved to a room in the mansion. I had to make sure that there weren't any fleas on your clothes."

"I ain't got fleas, ya prick!" Joey exclaimed out of reflex.

"I would certainly hope not, considering you've been in one of the best hospitals money can buy for three months." Seto said. "And I was being sincere when I said that; apparently one of the residents of your apartment complex is in possession of a great many cats."

Joey blinked. "Ohhhh yeah. The crazy cat lady two doors down. Almost forgot about her."

Seto nodded. "Not quite an infestation, but enough to warrant a very thorough washing."

"I'd say that was nice," Joey said with a smirk, "but I know you probably just didn't wanna deal with an infestation in your mansion. The damn place is so huge it'd probably take months to clear out."

After a very quiet chuckle under his breath, Seto didn't say anything more, just standing in the hospital room. He was honestly just happy to be able to see Joey's eyes and hear his voice again. As much as he'd berate Joey for his annoying, hyperactive behaviour even to this day, Seto had missed talking to him.

"So...you know any really good lawyers?" Joey asked, looking away from Kaiba.

Seto looked back at Joey. "The man who ran you over is already in police custody."

"Not that." Joey shook his head. "Though, that is good to know. I wanna see if I can get my dad out of prison."

Seto's eyes widened a mere fraction, and his grip on his folded arms tightened, his lips pursing into a thin line. He had the very powerful urge to yell at his fiance about what Joey's dad had done to him, and how after all of the pain and suffering he'd gone through, how in the world he could possibly still want to have anything to do with that man.

The rant, the yelling, it was all on the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed hard to try and quench the words.

"I might know some people." Seto said in a very low voice that almost sounded like a growl. "But I think it would be best if you saw your father in person first."

Joey visibly flinched when Seto said that, making the older man's eyes narrow. This was yet more evidence that the man didn't need to be anywhere near _his_ puppy. The damage he'd already done was severe.

"He probably hates me..." Joey said in a low voice. "Ryou told me that I was the one who put him there. That's why I have to get him out."

Unable to say anything on the matter that wouldn't involve Joey becoming extremely pissed off with him, Seto instead finally started to walk out of the room. "Either way, you can't do anything for him while you're in that bed. You had better take your physical therapy seriously, mutt. Now that you're awake, I'm not paying this hospital for you to sit around."

Joey scoffed. "Yeah, I think I've done more than enough of that for the past few months." As he watched the tail of Kaibal's jacket flow around him, he finally asked, "Hey, uh, Moneybags?"

"Hn?" Seto looked over his shoulder.

"Since when did you start wearing all black? You start goin through a goth phase or something?" Joey asked.

"I was told to come to your hospital room because something wonderful happened." Seto said with the edges of his lips twitching upward in what Mokuba would call a smile. "I assumed you'd finally passed on, so I decided to dress for the occasion."

Joey actually let out a bark of laughter. "Yeah, great to see you haven't really changed all that much, ya giant prick."

' _Oh, I've changed. More than you could possibly realize, and it was all thanks to you, Joey.'_ Seto felt himself wanting to say to the other man, but he held it in as he left the room.


	5. Prelude 1

**It's been a long time since I've written just a good ol' one-shot, but after writing it I never published it. So instead, I sat and sat on this story and I've finally decided to upload it as a sort of prelude/flashback to Seto and Joey before the accident in the rest of the story. I have other ideas floating around in my head, so if this one is well-received, I might upload more.**

IIIII

Joey Wheeler came back from an afternoon at the arcade with Yugi, Tristan, and Tea, feeling both rejuvenated from spending time with his friends but also tired from being out all day. "I'm hooome!" he called out, not knowing or caring particularly who heard him. He kicked his shoes off as soon as he got inside the door, as he always did, and put his green jacket inside of a coat closet.

"Mister Wheeler, sir?" a rather proper-sounding voice said to his left.

Wheeler looked over and saw Fuguta standing next to him. "Hey, Fuu!" he said to the other man, using a nickname that had become common for the blonde. "Still not used to you being so quiet. Least I didn't jump out of my skin this time."

Fuguta nodded. "My apologies, sir. I wanted to let you know that Mister Kaiba wishes to speak with you as soon as you're able. He seems...upset by something." He said with some difficulty.

Joey rolled his eyes. Honestly, Kaiba might have been much more in-control of his emotions and rarely showed them to people, but Joey of all people knew exactly how to push his buttons. The other man was surprisingly easy to tease. "Looks like I might be sleeping on the couch tonight. Any idea what the problem is?"

"When Roland brought in the day's mail, sir, Mister Kaiba became very angry with something he received." Fuguta shook his head. "I don't know what it was, however."

Joey shrugged. "I'll go talk to him." he said, heading upstairs right away.

The mansion was a maze and it was only by the grace of Joey living there for years that he knew how to get to the other Kaiba's study. He knocked on the door a couple of times before he opened to door anyway and walked inside. "Hey, Seto! Fuguta said you wanted to talk to me when I got home? You coulda just - -" he stopped when he saw Seto's position. He had his laptop closed, his elbows on his desk, fingers laced together tented over his mouth. He usually only looked like that when something was very deeply bothering him.

Seto glowered at Joey before he took an envelope decorated with gold filigree and an eye of wdjat and tossed it at the other man's feet. "Care to explain this, Joey?"

Joey looked excited to see it, however, gasping happily. "Awesome! This must be from Industrial Illusions!" He picked it up and opened it up, starting to read it.

"You applied for a position there?" Seto asked pointedly, as if he were accusing Joey of something far worse.

Joey nodded. "I didn't want to tell you about it until I got the job, and looking at this, it looks like they want me to come and try something out before - -"

" _Joey."_ Seto said tensely. "Why did you apply to work at Industrial Illusions behind my back?!"

Joey looked at Seto, confused. "'Behind your…' Seto, what are you talking about?" He asked. "I just told you that I didn't want to tell you, anyone really, until I knew I got the job."

Seto suddenly stood from his desk and stalked over to Joey, getting very close to the other man. "You want to work for my biggest competitor? And you did this without bringing this up to me at all?" He asked venomously. "Explain. Now."

A normal person might be intimidated by Seto glowering at them, his icy eyes hardened with anger, his fists at his sides clenching as if he were about to reach out and wring the neck of the next person to foolishly anger him. But Joey wasn't a normal person, and he wasn't intimidated.

He was livid.

"Excuse me?" Joey asked. "If I want to get a job instead of sitting around on my ass wondering when the hell you're gonna be able to tear yourself away from your job to come home to me and Mokuba, then I have every right to!" He shoved the letter at Kaiba's chest. "And how the hell did you even know I applied?! You didn't open it, so how did you know?"

"I called Industrial Illusions personally." Seto answered. "Curiosity. And good thing I did or else you would have started working for my enemy without me knowing."

Joey just looked at Kaiba incredulously. "Do you even HEAR yourself, Seto?! You're sounding like I cheated on you or something!"

Seto jabbed his long index finger into Joey's chest. "You went behind my back and applied to work at Kaiba Corp's biggest competitor as a beta tester, a job that would mean you would be actively involved in the process of making their products better, and you somehow don't see anything wrong with that?!"

Joey snarled, baring his teeth at Seto and slapped his hand away. "No, Seto. They had a job opening and I wanted a job. Put two and two together, genius boy!"

Seto folded his arms. "If you wanted a job so badly, we have positions open in our quality assurance team in Kaiba Corp."

Joey blinked. "So that's what this is about!" He said, making a disbelieving noise, taking a step back and shaking his head with his hand in his hair. "Y'know for being so smart, you can be really dumb sometimes."

" _What?"_ Seto spat out.

"I don't want to work for Kaiba Corp!" Joey said. "How weird would it be having my fiance as my boss for god's sake?"

"Why do you need a job in the first place?" Kaiba asked. "I make more than enough money for each of us to live comfortably. Or did you forget whose mansion you're living in?"

"Gozaburo's?" Joey asked with a quirked eyebrow.

If Kaiba's face was a vision of anger before, he was enraged now. His eyes widened considerably and his lips thinned before he bared his teeth at the other man, blood starting to rush to his face. "You," he growled out, "know better than to mention that man so freely."

Joey sighed roughly. "Yeah, sorry." he said half-heartedly.

"You didn't answer me." Kaiba said tersely.

"You already answered your own question." Joey said, folding his arms.

"Then enlighten me, Joey." Kaiba said, walking forward and putting a hand on Joey's shoulder. "What is it about Industrial Illusions that you find so enticing?"

"Nothing." Joey answered honestly. "I just love games and I wanted to try my hand in a job where I get to help making games." He held up a finger before Seto could counter. "With a company _other_ than yours."

Seto shook his head. "Why is it so important to you that you not work with Kaiba Corp? If you want to be a part of the process of game design, then you could easily be a part of Kaiba Corp's development team."

Joey scoffed and looked up, clearly aggravated that Seto didn't understand.

"Is there something wrong with Kaiba Corp money in particular that you don't like?" Seto squeezed his shoulder a bit harder to see if he could get a reaction.

"Is it because you think people will believe you're using our relationship for leverage?" Seto shook his shoulder a bit.

Joey finally got tired of the persistence. _"I'm tired of leeching off of you!"_ He exclaimed.

Seto looked surprised at last and his grip on Joey's shoulder softened as Joey held up a hand to his face, covering his eyes like he'd just admitted some horrible secret.

"I know that you don't see it the same way I do, Seto, but I live in your house, eat your food, use your stuff, and even when you give me money to buy something it's still your money that you earned and that I'm spending. It's a matter of pride, I guess." Joey finally said. "I'm tired of you spending and spending and me taking and taking."

Seto nodded. "You're right. I don't see it that way." He said. "I let you do those things, Joey, because I care about you. Do you think otherwise? You wouldn't be anywhere near my home if I didn't." It was like pulling teeth to get Seto to say 'I love you' if it wasn't in the middle of a passionate night of lovemaking.

Joey took a moment to think about how to phrase what he was trying to say. "I hate that I don't give back to you. I don't want to feel like I should owe you anything back, even though you do so much for me."

"Joey," Seto began, "You don't owe me anything. People owe banks, not their fiances." He put his fist on Joey's chest. "I do this for you - -"

"And then I do something for you." Joey finished with a nod.

"No." Seto said firmly. "I do this for you and you repay me just by liking the things I do."

"I just," Joey sighed. "I want to be able to contribute to the house, y'know?" he finally looked at Seto, his golden eyes wide. "Even if I ain't putting millions in the bank every day like you are, I still want to feel like...like what we have is ours, not just that I'm taking from you. That we're building it up together."

Seto took a moment to process what Joey said. The two men had gotten engaged, after all, and now that they were going to be married, he wanted to feel like whatever future they had together, he was an active participant, instead of passively letting Seto do all of the work.

"Joey you do more for me than you probably realize." Seto said lowly. "But if you want to build something together, I have a way to do it." He walked closer, putting an arm around the other man. "Come work for Kaiba Corp as a manager of the quality assurance division." Joey looked up to argue, but Kaiba held up a hand. "Let me finish. You wouldn't earn a regular paycheck like a normal employee would. But when the company makes more money because of your skill in making the games we design even better, then you'll know that the new revenue we're earning, and that is going into _our_ pockets, is because of you."

Joey didn't say anything for a moment, but Seto could practically hear the cogs turning in his mind.

"I'll have to think about it." Joey finally relented. "And...I'm sorry I brought up your stepfather." he looked away, feeling ashamed. "I was just angry and I knew that would sting if I said it."

Seto nodded, putting his arm down. "I forgive you, Joey. Now then, I'll take this." He said, snatching up the letter from Industrial Illusions.

"H-Hey! What are you doing?" Joey asked, still a bit stunned from Seto's proposition.

"This will make a good starter for the fire. It's supposed to get chilly tonight." Seto said plainly.

"Oh come ON!" Joey exclaimed. "I can't even respond to it?"

"You can call them if you're that serious about it." Seto looked over his shoulder as he walked out of the room. "But I think my solution to your job search is much more lucrative than an entry-level position under Maximillion Pegasus."

Joey crossed his arms and huffed. "You gonna decide when I can spend time with my friends next or something?"

"Don't tempt me."

Joey's eyes narrowed. "That's a sign of an abusive relationship, Seto." he pointed out.

Seto stopped mid-stride, turned on his heel, looked right in Joey's eyes and said, "You know that the only 'abuse' you'll be taking is tonight in the bedroom, _Puppy."_ And with that, he left a furiously blushing blond sputtering in response as he left to incinerate the offending bit of paper that had started this whole mess.


End file.
